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‘I can’t even bear to sleep at night in case he needs me.’
‘That’s natural, Leslie. It’s still very early days. You may not believe me now but that feeling will ease. You will grow more confident and both of you will eventually be back on your feet again. It won’t go away but you’ll be surprised how you manage to live with it. I’ve seen it happen before. I know at the moment this thing is dominating your lives, but as the weeks and months pass it will start to take more of a back seat.’
‘Will it? I just keep picturing him lying on that couch with the oxygen mask on his face. I keep hearing all those machines beeping. I keep thinking of our little Andrea being left without a father—’ Leslie broke off and covered her mouth with her hand, fighting back the tears.
‘She still has her father,’ Kyla said softly, ‘and what you have to remember is that everyone is looking out for you. Both the doctors here and the hospital will be monitoring Doug and that’s a good thing.’
‘I hated those machines beeping in the hospital.’ Leslie gave a humourless laugh. ‘Now I’m missing them. At least when they were beeping I knew he was alive.’
‘It’s natural to feel a bit insecure when you’re first discharged from hospital, but you’re not on your own, Leslie. That’s why we’re here.’
‘Leslie? Is that Kyla?’ Doug’s voice came from the garden and Leslie cleared her throat and turned on the tap to splash her face with cold water.
‘Don’t you go telling him I’m worried,’ she said gruffly, drying her face with a towel and straightening her dress. ‘I don’t want him having any extra anxiety.’
‘Do you think he doesn’t know? Of course he knows you’re worried!’ Kyla shook her head and smiled. ‘I’ll go and chat to him while you take a moment for yourself. Maybe you can bring that tea out when you’re ready.’
‘I’ll do that. And, Kyla …’ Leslie’s voice stopped her before she went through the back door.
‘Yes?’
‘Thank you, lass. You’re a good girl.’
Kyla buried herself in work in an attempt not to think about Ethan.
She visited the McDonalds’ most days on her way home and popped in on Aisla to check on her. She filled her clinics to the brim and saw everyone who wanted to be seen, usually on the same day. At night she fell into bed, exhausted. And dreamed of Ethan.
All his earlier reluctance to socialise with Logan and Kirsty seemed to have disappeared and he frequently joined Logan for supper, often in the garden and even turned up at Kirsty’s first birthday party with an oversized stuffed teddy, which the little girl loved.
In order to avoid him, Kyla took to visiting Kirsty during the day and spending the occasional evening with her aunt who ran the café on the quay.
‘You’ve been visiting us more than usual,’ her aunt observed gently as she placed a bowl full of steaming home-made soup in front of Kyla. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘Nothing at all.’ Kyla sniffed the bowl ‘Smells fantastic. Can you blame me for visiting? Given the choice of eating here or cooking for myself, there’s no contest.’
‘Kyla?’ Her aunt sat down opposite her, ignoring the customers who had just streamed into the café from the ferry. ‘I’ve known you all your life. There’s something the matter, I can tell.’
‘It’s nothing.’
‘And does this “nothing” happen to wear a suit and drive a flashy sports car?’
Kyla lifted her eyes from her soup. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Don’t you? This is an island, Kyla. It’s hard for things to go on without anyone noticing.’ Her aunt’s voice was gentle as she stood up. ‘You’re entitled to your privacy, if that’s what you want. But I’m reminding you that even though your mum’s not around, you’ve still family here, Kyla Mary MacNeil. Family who love you. Don’t you forget that.’
Kyla swallowed hard. ‘He isn’t interested, Aunty Meg.’
‘Strikes me that he’s a man with a great deal on his mind.’
Kyla gave a lopsided smile. ‘You sound like Evanna. She thinks he has “issues”.’
‘Maybe he has. Maybe he just needs a bit of space to work a few things out and this is a good place for that.’
Kyla shook her head. ‘I’m not pushing myself on him.’
‘So is that why you’re eating me out of house and home?’ Meg pushed some more bread towards her. ‘Because he’s spending time with your brother and you’re avoiding him?’
Kyla felt guilty. ‘I love eating here and seeing you.’
